By Alastair James

Copyright thepinknews

Dancing with the Stars’ Scott Hoying has discussed choosing to have his first dance be to Lady Gaga, citing her long-running gay allyship as a key reason.

Hoying is one-fifth of the Grammy-winning a cappella pop group, Pentatonix. The other members are Mitch Grassi, Kirstin Maldonado, Matt Sallee, and Kevin Olusola.

On Tuesday’s (16 September) premiere of the latest season of Dancing with the Stars, Hoying and his dance partner, Rylee Arnold, danced a tango to Gaga’s “Abracadabra.” The pair scored 10/20 for the first dance, with Hoying’s debut being called “impressive” by judge Derek Hough.

However Robert Irwin, the son of the late Steve Irwin, was among those to score highest on the night, earning 15/20 for his Jive to Steppenwolf’s “Born To Be Wild.” Influencer Whitney Leavitt also scored 15/20.

Speaking to extraTV afterward, Hoying said he chose “Abracadabra” for “a lot of reasons,” citing Gaga’s “authenticity.”

He continued: “She’s always stuck to her ways. She is such an inspiring artist, and she’s a multi hyphenate. She does everything, every genre, [she’s] not put in boxes and she champions the queer community when no one would. And she’s moved the needle I think more than we all ever realise. I’m obsessed.”

Encouraged on by the interviewer, Hoying added that Gaga’s “hot and talented and writes bangers.” He said dancing on the show was “healing” as he’s always loved to dance as a kid.

So far no one has left the show, with scores from week on being carried over to next week when two couples will face the chop.

Dancing with the Stars airs on ABC as well as Disney+.

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